Federal Activities & Agencies

Ending Stigma and Discrimination Against People Living with HIV

In addition to the serious health issues they face, people living with HIV may often experience stigma and discrimination because of their HIV status. Stigma is an attitude of disapproval and discontent towards an individual or group from other individuals or institutions because of the presence of an attribute perceived as undesirable. Discrimination is often a consequence of stigma, occurring when unfair actions are taken against individuals on the basis of their belonging to a particular stigmatized group.

Stigma and Discrimination: Complex Barriers to Health Care

HIV stigma and discrimination can pose complex barriers to prevention, testing, treatment, and support for people living with or at risk for HIV. Some examples of stigma include being shunned by family, peers, and the wider community; receiving poor treatment in health care and education settings; and experiencing judgmental attitudes, insults, or harassment. Some individuals with HIV have been denied or lost employment, housing, and other services; prevented from receiving health care; denied access to educational and training programs; and have been victims of violence and hate crimes. HIV-related stigma and discrimination prevents individuals from learning their HIV status, disclosing their status even to family members and sexual partners, and/or accessing medical care and treatment, weakening their ability to protect themselves from getting or transmitting HIV, and to stay healthy. HIV-related stigma is made more complicated when individuals also experience stigma related to substance use, mental health, sexual orientation, gender identity, race/ethnicity, or sex work.

Legal Protections for People Living with HIV and AIDS

Numerous federal laws protect people living with HIV and AIDS from discrimination. For example, people living with HIV and AIDS are protected from discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal act that guarantees equal opportunities in employment, housing, public accommodations, telecommunications, and transportation, and also applies to all local and state government services. People living with HIV and AIDS are also guaranteed protections from housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and are protected from being excluded from Federally-funded programs under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Further, under the Affordable Care Act, people with pre-existing health conditions, including HIV, can no longer be dropped from, denied, or charged more for health care coverage, and under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the privacy and security of individuals’ medical records and other health information maintained by HHS-funded programs and services is protected.

Envisioning a Future Free from HIV-related Stigma and Discrimination

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated to 2020 calls for a reduction in stigma and elimination of discrimination associated with HIV status and commits to developing an indicator to measure HIV stigma and track progress toward that target. The Strategy identifies several HIV stigma reduction steps, including mobilizing communities to reduce HIV-related stigma; strengthening the enforcement of civil rights laws; assisting states in protecting people with HIV from violence, retaliation and discrimination associated with HIV status; and promoting the public leadership of people living with HIV. These actions will help achieve the Strategy’s vision, that “The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.”

Across the federal government, multiple agencies play a role in enforcing federal civil rights protections, providing technical assistance for carrying out the mandates of the ADA and other laws, and developing and disseminating information about civil rights and protections. While some Departments have authority to enforce these protections, nearly all have the ability to disseminate relevant information about protecting the rights of persons living with HIV and to take steps to confront and reduce HIV-related stigma.

Scroll down to read about each agency or office’s activities combating HIV stigma and discrimination.

Federal Agencies' Stigma and Discrimination Activities

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety, and security threats. CDC provides leadership in helping control the HIV/AIDS epidemic by working with community, state, national, and international partners in surveillance, research, prevention, and evaluation activities, as well as by working to improve treatment and support for people living with HIV.

CDC’s Act Against AIDS initiative focuses on raising awareness of HIV among all Americans and reducing the risk of infection among the hardest-hit populations—gay and bisexual men, African Americans, Latinos, and other communities at increased risk. The initiative’s Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign raises awareness about HIV and its impact on the lives of all Americans and fights stigma by showing that persons with HIV are real people—mothers, fathers, friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, partners, wives, husbands, and co-workers.

Learn more about CDC’s efforts to combat HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is responsible for enforcing Federal laws and ensuring fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. DOJ’s Civil Rights Division works to uphold the civil rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society, and enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status, and national origin.

DOJ is a lead agency in the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The Department fights discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS by continuing to conduct new investigations, as appropriate, of HIV/AIDS discrimination under the Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, a partnership between the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as under the Fair Housing Act to address discrimination by housing providers. Beyond its enforcement work, DOJ also provides technical assistance to businesses, public employers and people living with HIV/AIDS on their rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. DOJ also produced the Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically Supported Factors, and will disseminate this guide to all State Attorneys General, with a cover letter alerting them to its purpose and contents.

Learn more about DOJ’s efforts to fight discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS.

U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) works to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights

The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

Within ED, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) works to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in our nation’s schools. This includes ensuring that the rights of students, parents, and employees living with HIV/AIDS are protected. OCR also provides technical assistance to help institutions achieve voluntary compliance with the civil rights laws that OCR enforces.

Learn more about ED’s work to ensure equal access to education and enforce civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. EEOC investigates charges of discrimination against employers who are covered by federal laws and also works to prevent discrimination before it occurs through outreach, education and technical assistance programs.

Through these and other efforts, EEOC will continue to combat stigma and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS in the workplace, educate the public on these issues, and work to achieve the Strategy’s goals.

Learn more about EEOC’s work to fight discrimination in the workplace.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS/OCR) ensures equal access to certain health and human services and protects the privacy and security of health information in accordance with federal civil rights laws and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.

HHS/OCR accepts and investigates complaints of discrimination against persons with living with HIV in health care treatment and insurance coverage, as well as complaints that a covered entity or business associate violated the health information privacy rights of persons with HIV, or committed another violation of the HIPAA Privacy, Security or Breach Notification Rules. HHS/OCR also provides information for individuals and health care professionals, as well as the Information is Powerful Medicine campaign about health information privacy rights for people living with HIV.

Learn more about HHS/OCR’s efforts to protect the civil rights and health information privacy rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD works to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business.

HUD’s Office of HIV/AIDS Housing manages the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program. The HOPWA program is the only Federal program dedicated to the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. In collaboration with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, HOPWA provides information and resources on the prohibition of housing discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS and investigates complaints alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protect people living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination.

Learn more about HUD’s efforts to serve the housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and fight housing discrimination.

Many Federal agencies have developed public awareness and education campaigns to address HIV prevention, treatment, care, and research. In this section, you’ll find a snapshot of these Federal HIV campaigns and links to help you access more information as well as campaign materials that you can use. Also included is information about campaigns related to the prevention and diagnosis of hepatitis B and C.

HIV.gov's Virtual Office Hours provides free social media technical assistance for the HIV community. Appointments are available for individuals or groups who want to learn how to best use social media for their HIV programs.